Last month the voice for awarding the Bharat Ratna for PV Narasimha Rao grew, this was long over due and also his birth anniversary was approaching. No statement has been given by the Centre so far. Meanwhile down South, in the Tamil film industry three celebrities, Kamal Hassan, Vetri Maaran, Dhanush and several others have sent a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, asking the Centre to bestow legendary director Bharathiraja with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
It is time director Bharatiraja’s services to the film industry be given a fitting tribute. His films had addressed many social issues like unemployment, untouchability, caste war, female infanticide, women empowerment, social values and human relationship and created a cult following among south Indians. His films pioneered in shifting stories from the film sets in the city to the villages and he was also instrumental in introducing several talents. He is now performing important roles as an actor in films. Actors, directors and technicians who are National Award winners from Chennai film industry are the signatories. The letter has a list of accomplishments made by Bharathiraja in his career spanning 43 years in cinema. The signatories felt that awarding him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award will be a ‘fitting tribute to this living legend and a right recognition at the right time for his contribution to Indian cinema.’
